In complex equipment, such as, for example, computer servers and the like, it is often necessary for a user to obtain information about the equipment and/or the version of software loaded on the equipment. For example, with respect to a processor or server, the user often needs to know the serial number, or the IP address, or the product ID, or other information. Some of this information is constant in that once the equipment is put into the housing its identity remains fixed. Other identifications, such as, for example, the version of the current operating system or the version of one or more applications, is temporal and changes more frequently. Also, in some situations, a user may desire to keep track of prior versions (heritage) of the equipment and/or programs running on the equipment.
Currently, there are different methods that a user employs to obtain the desired information, with the particular method employed depending upon whether the desired information is relatively permanent or temporal. For permanent information pertaining to a particular piece of equipment, the user usually must look behind the equipment for the serial number, model number and other such information. This, at best, is inconvenient and sometimes relatively difficult to achieve, given the wiring that is typically found behind a processor. The space constraints also limit a user's ability to retrieve equipment information which is located in the rear of the equipment. Pulling equipment away from walls, or pulling racks out to see behind the equipment is cumbersome and often interferes with the proper operation of the equipment.
The problem is different with temporal information since there is no convenient place to maintain a record of software version, or IP address or other network information. Some people use notebooks, some note cards, some scraps of paper. In some instances, users mark the current versions on the equipment with various markers and/or ‘sticky’ notes. In addition to the haphazard nature of such “solutions” they have a serious problem when equipment is changed out. In such situations, it is common to remove the front bezels from the equipment and since often the bezels interchangeable, such that when the bezels are returned to the equipment they are not associated with the same device as they were before removal. Thus, the information pertaining to the device which are on the bezel is now improper.